Nathan Beitler/MDN Minot North junior setter Brynn Francis moves to spike the ball in the Sentinels’ home game against the St. Mary’s Saints on Thursday, Nov. 6.

The Minot North Sentinels secured the comeback to win in their play-in match at home against the St. Mary’s Saints 3-1 Thursday night, Nov. 6, and advance to the West Region AA quarterfinals.

The first set was a tough one for Minot North. A slow start and slower end for the Sentinels in the first set gave St. Mary’s an early lead, taking the first win 25-12. But the Sentinels were not out of the match yet.

The second set started much better for Minot North. Blocks and kills from senior Aven Kelly and junior Brynn Francis gave the Sentinels a 4-0 lead early in the second set. The Saints were able to bring their way back to a 4-4 tie on two missed digs by the Sentinels and two out of bounds balls, but Minot North took the lead immediately after with a successful block and kept their lead for the rest of the set. The Sentinels were up by 14 points at 22-8 and were able to secure the second set 25-17. The third set saw much of the same for the Sentinels as the second. Minot North took and kept an early lead, staying at least four points ahead of the Saints past their 16-12 lead halfway through the set. Minot North secured the third set of the match with a score of 25-15.

The fourth and final set of the match started with an early and steady lead for the Saints. St. Mary’s scored the first five points of the set, with the Sentinels scoring their first point when the ball was hit out of bounds by the Saints. The Saints kept their lead until the teams tied 6-6. St. Mary’s took the lead once again and tied once again at 10-10. The Sentinels took the lead at 11-10 on a kill across the court. Minot North was able to keep their lead through the rest of the set ending the set with a score of 25-20, completing their comeback after a tough first set and winning the match 3-1.

“Sometimes in those early games, you get a little amped up, you’re excited, you want to do well, and our serves were just missing long and that’s kind of a sign of being a little hyped up and ready to go,” said Minot North volleyball head coach Kari Francis. “We just took a little breath when we were there, and [the team] believed and they did it. They found a way to settle in, and make one play at a time.”

Minot North will be advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2025 NDHSAA Division AA, West Region Volleyball Tournament to take on the West’s No. 1 seed Century High School. The Sentinels took their first ever set against the Century Patriots earlier this season.

“They’re a very, very good program and we know that we just have to come out and put some pressure on them and see what happens and take one point at a time,” said Coach Francis. “We’ve played them very tough and they’re a very good team so we’ll just have to know that we have to give them our best shot.”

Junior setter Brynn Francis walked away from Thursday’s game with the most kills for Minot North at nine, and senior Aven Kelly tied with several other players for second with eight kills on the day. Kelly said that she and the other Sentinels were quite nervous coming into Thursday’s match.

“Season was on the line, we have a few seniors here who have been here since day one, so [we were] a little emotional, but I’m really glad we could come back and gather everything and we got the job done,” said Kelly. “I feel like knowing we can [win] and really bring it, we just got to have confidence, I think have a little fun while we’re at it and maybe something can happen!”

The Sentinels will take on the Patriots in their quarterfinal match starting at 1 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, at Mandan High School.